Canning cupboard that my Dad made.
Storing Home Canned Goods
For more information, read my post How To Store Your Home Canned Foods
It’s important to store your home canned meats, fruits and vegetables properly. Cool temperatures and dark conditions help to retain the color, flavor, and nutrients of your canned goods. You also need to make sure that the shelving will hold the weight of all the glass jars and their contents. They are quite heavy, especially when you put several dozen jars on a shelf. Particle board won’t cut it…and don’t buy any of those pre-fab shelving units made of ‘MDF’ (medium density fiberboard).
Plywood and pine will hold up fairly well as long as you don’t put up long stretches without enough brackets to support the load. I’ve also used the heavy duty plastic shelving units to store my canned goods. But if you are handy, or you’re blessed with a handy Dad (like me!), you can build a really cool canning cupboard that will hold the weight of your canned goods, plus keep the light, dust, and cats off them! I can’t give you instructions to build this cabinet, but there are plenty of plans available online. Instead, I’d like to show off my Dad’s handiwork and the beauty of this wood.
This photo shows the color and grain of the red pine used to make this cupboard.
A Homemade Canning Cupboard
Made in the USA by my Dad!
My Dad’s made some really nice things for me. I have two bookcases, an end table, and a stool that he made for me in the past, some of them from my childhood. When my parents came to visit for our 25th anniversary, they brought this awesome canning cabinet that Dad made for us. He built one for their canned goods and then wondered if I would like one too. Well, naturally I jumped on that offer like a cat on a mouse!
This cabinet is very special to me, not just because my Dad made it (although that is reason enough), but also because of the lumber used to make it. The gorgeous red pine (Pinus resinosa) was planted by my Grandma M, along with her parents (my Great Grandma and Great Grandpa D) and her brother, my Uncle Lyle. My Grandma was a year or 3 shy of 20 when they planted a stand of Red Pine on the land that my Dad later inherited. I remember my Dad climbing into the tops of a few of those pines to cut our Christmas tree when I was young. I loved riding horseback through the shade of the pines, where there was little underbrush.
The pines that they planted are growing old, and many of the trees they planted have fallen or are tipping. My Dad has been harvesting the lumber for a few years now. He takes the felled trees to an Amish sawmill nearby for processing.
Ready to fill with home canned goodies!
I love the color and grain of this wood. Red pines are so named because of the reddish color of their wood. My photos don’t do justice to the beauty of the lumber. I’m so happy to have another piece of furniture made by my Dad, from trees he dragged out of the woods and hauled to the sawmill. To think of my youthful Grandma planting out seedlings makes me appreciate the history of this cabinet. It’s life began well before my Dad fashioned it’s current form. You can’t buy that at the lumber yard.
Have you harvested your own lumber and made furniture from it?
Update: I’ve had several people ask me for more information about the size of my canning cupboard, so I measured.
Love the jam cupboard ! I sure would like the dimension of the cupboard so I can build one like it for our canning jars.
Cheers!
Hi Roy,
No problem! The cupboard is 62″ tall x 39″ wide x 20″ deep. The top shelf is 7.5″ tall, and the rest of the shelves are 9″ tall. I can put quart jars on each level. I use the top shelf more for pint and half pint jars of jam, pickles, or salsa. My Dad made one similar to this for my Mom…they have it stuffed full too. 🙂
What a beautiful cupboard, and a beautiful post. You are blessed! I still live on the original homestead of my great grandparents in MN, and five years ago we knocked down the old house my grandpa built and put up a new one behind it. In doing so, we had to take down the biggest, oldest tree on the farm, a very stately black walnut. I suppose we should’ve picked a different spot, but it was *perfect* for a new house. My father had planted that tree as a toddler with his father in the 40’s, and he was sad to see it come down. We took it to a local sawmill, and my cousin, who is a carpenter, made it into a very large and gorgeous table. We wrote a short ‘story’ of the table underneath it with a black permanent marker so it would be preserved. Hopefully it will be a lovely heirloom!
-Martha
Thanks so much, Martha! How wonderful that you turned that tree into a piece of furniture to be cherished for generations to come! Thanks for sharing your story with us!
WOW! I am so envious! Absolutely gorgeous! And I love the history that goes along with it. So glad I found your blog!
Hi Karen!
Thanks a bundle 🙂 I’m so glad you found my blog too! Glad to have you here!
It is so beautiful! The wood is just so rich looking. I’m sharing on my facebook!
Thanks Sharon! And thanks for sharing!
Absolutely gorgeous Lisa Lynn! I’m so happy for you to have such a wonderful Dad and family and beautiful crafted handiwork that is also nostalgic! I just love it! Beauty and charm and practical all wrapped up into one. Thank you for sharing this with us and giving us inspiration! ~Katie
Thanks so much Katie! So glad to hear the great comments. 🙂
Lisa Lynn,
What a lovely cabinet and a thoughtful story. Looks like you either need another one, or need to get eating, because there’s not room to put up this season’s bounty! Thank you for sharing.
Hi Kristen!
Lol 🙂 We’re trying! But I think I’ll need to use my old shelving for this year’s harvest.
What a great thing to have for canning! I love that it has such sentimental value.
via AOC
Hi Pat!
Thanks for stopping by from The Tuesday Garden Party!
What a beautiful cupboard!
Thank you Kristi!
This is gorgeous. My dad does furniture sometimnes from wood taken from their woods. They didn’t plant them but they lived at the same place for 30 yrs. I just sore mine on heavy metal shelving which holds dozens of jars and then make a curtain from a thrifted sheet to make it dark for my food. This is beautiful, tell your dad so. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Deb! I did have them all on plastic shelves…not perfect, but they worked.
I like this cupboard at its history! I wish my vegetables ripened when temperatures were cooler because i hat turning on the stove in August & September!
The cat helped me write that, hence the errors!
They really are helpful little playmates, aren’t they! Too bad their grammar stinks 😉
Thanks Gardenbug! I hear you! I’ve been thinking about the idea of canning outside with propane…I just hate to buy extra equipment.
I have been canning outside for years because of how it heats up the house. I use the burner base stand from our turkey fryer and it works great! That, a propane tank and a table are all the extra equipment that you need and you’re good to go. Check your local online sales pages thru FB, Craigslist, Freecycle, etc. to see if maybe someone is getting rid of their turkey fryer burner stand.
Hi Crystal,
I have neighbors who used to do that. I’m not sure they do any canning these days. I’ve thought about setting up an outdoor canning ‘kitchen’ but have yet to invest in the equipment. Thanks for sharing your experience with us!
How special to have this cabinet made by your Dad. It is just beautiful! I am amazed by your canning too!
Thank you Patty! I love my new cabinet and my canned goodies look so much prettier displayed in it!
wow, what a wonderful gift! Thank you for sharing at the hop, your participation makes the hop extra special. Big Hugs P.S. the new giveaway posted yesterday!
Thanks Katherine!
I am visiting you from Katherine ‘s Corner’s blog hop. I have been following you on Pinterest.
I am so inspired by your blog! I am determined to do some canning.
Hi Maureen!
Thanks for following! It’s great to have you here!
Best wishes with your canning projects! I have found jam to be a good place to start 🙂
So pretty! It looks like it’s been in your house for generations. And I am very impressed by your stash!
Thanks Shannon 🙂 Moving my canned goods to the cabinet made me realize that I really need to use them up quicker!
Wonderful cabinet and story. My husband built a sawmill and he saws lumber all the time. He makes things for me and the “Grands”, which always mean more when they come from our land.
I love admiring all my hard work on my canning shelves, and using it in the winter is just the best.
Your canning looks positively beautiful.
Thank you Carol! That’s wonderful that your husband mills his own lumber and creates things for you!
Beautiful and practical! A winning combination!
Made by Dad? Priceless!
Thanks Laura!
Well I was wondering if there is a good website to buy canning jars in bulk? Anyone out there?
Hi Loyda!
I’m sorry I don’t have any info on bulk jars to share. If anyone else does, I’d be interested in hearing about it too. 🙂 I’ve picked up most of mine on sale, Freecycle, or garage sales…or from my Mom finding them at the Methodist Church rummage sale a couple times a year.
I LOVE your cabinet and the stories behind it!
Thanks so much Twisted Cinderella! 😉
Oh, I love the color and grain of the wood! Gorgeous!!
~Ann
Thanks Ann! Hmmm…maybe a good use for those tipsy pine trees in your side yard?!
What a wonderful gift from your dad – it’s beautiful!
Thanks Maria! I’m really proud of my Dad’s talent! 🙂 I’ll have another post showing off my Mom’s talent pretty soon. 😉
I like, like, like…It is so pretty. I think all those delicious foods look so pretty inside it.
Thank you very much Rachel. 🙂 I enjoy seeing all of my hard work all dressed up their new digs!
What a beautiful legacy, Lisa Lynn. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Thanks Carol! How could I not share this?! I had a little trouble getting good photos because it’s in the basement. But I’ve been planning this post since my parents’ visit!
That’s a beautiful, precious pantry cupboard.
Thanks so much Nancy!
Wow. What a fabulous family heirloom. You’ve got quite a stash of canned goods there. Enjoy!
Thank you Daisy! My Dad told me that it should be big enough to hold all of my canned goods. Erm, well…it holds most of them. Reorganizing my goodies made me realize that I need to use up a few things here so I’ll have room to put fresh stuff this year! Gotta go through the canned goods more often!
No. 🙁 We don’t have a woodlot, and by the time ours grows, I don’t think we’ll be able to use it for furniture. This is a beautiful piece though! I’m envious. I don’t really have a cupboard, Right now I just have everything in a cabinet above the dryer but, we are fast growing out of it so something else needs to be done. I’d love to have my husband do something like this for me.
Hi Jenny!
If you plant pine trees you might have wood in time to use it. There are some fast growing trees. Generally faster growing trees have softer wood, so you may need thicker boards to hold the weight. You can still make some wonderful storage with lumber purchased! You could do a little hinting around about what you’d like. 😉
Thanks! I’m showing off my Dad’s creation here, so I was kinda looking for a little bit of envy (but not too much!) 🙂
Beautiful cupboard–inside and out! We harvested enough lumber to frame an addition to our house–my grandfather planted a lot of trees for the future, and we are the future!
Thank you Meredith 🙂 That’s wonderful that you were able to frame the addition to your home! It’s so cool to grow up on land that has been in the family for generations. Not many people have that experience. Thanks for stopping by!
Lisa, that cabinet is just stunning! Wow! You are so blessed to have that and the memories that go along with it. I love looking a pictures of home canned foods 🙂
Thanks Laura! My Dad really outdid himself on this project! 🙂 And I’m with you! Pics of home canned goodies definitely trump photos of fashion or home decor. 😉
LOVE that cabinet! Can’t wait until I have my first harvest (in our new home) all packaged up so pretty-like. 🙂
Thanks Terri! Best wishes with your harvest. 🙂 And have fun canning it!